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The holidays are always greatly anticipated at our house, especially when we are privileged to host our family and friends. We go into high gear – and this year, it was even more fun than usual.

A couple of weeks ago, a new-found friend had been explaining a cooking technique he used. It was called sous vide. What??? How do you spell that?

It's French, pronounced “soo veed” and it means “under vacuum”. After our friend's animated description, we looked at each other and decided we just had to check into this technique a bit further. Off to the Internet we went, reading different recipes and understanding the whole concept of this type of cooking. The sous vide technique cooks your food in a vacuum sealed bag while it is submerged in a water bath at a precisely controlled temperature —- whew! That's a mouthful!

In a nutshell, you take your piece of meat, for example, and place your favorite spices, fruits, and/or rubs inside the bag. Vacuum seal the bag closed and submerge it in the sous vide cooker. It is preset to a special temperature and the cooker will hold water within one degree of that temperature for the entire period of time it cooks. The natural flavors and juices are locked inside the bag as it cooks. The nutrients found in the food are retained – compared to grilling or baking, where they may evaporate or stay within the pan.

The time and temperature that you cook your meat varies. We did a brisket for 48 hours (yup, you heard it right!). Beef tenderloin – 4 to 6 hours. Pork tenderloin took 6-8 hours and salmon was done in fifty minutes. Each cut of meat was sealed in it's own bag with it's own variety of seasonings. The low, slow way of cooking made the meat OH so tender and moist.

We chose to purchase a sous vide cooker, but have been told that you can make your own by purchasing a heating element and circulator on-line. I will tell you that the cooker, itself, was pricey – but we seldom go out to eat and I would liken the price to a fancy dinner out for four. The water temperature and the cooking time determine the “done-ness” of the food – so special attention was given to the cooking manual!

Not to be outdone by the main dish, we had to have some homemade Thanksgiving bread to complete the look. We made a batch of dough, shaped the rolls into balls and scored the sides with a sharp knife. As the dough rose, it spread apart and gave the appearance of a little pumpkin. We stuck a nut in the top to give it a stem – and off to the oven they went.

After a wonderful day of great family, friends, and food – we paused to say “thanks” for another holiday….and bustled off to the car to go see Santa!!

The crew is coming here for our Easter celebration. I'm sure we will have bright eyes and smiles as the little ones come with their baskets to see what the Easter bunny has left for them!

It reminds me of an Easter Sunday just two years ago. Our family was blessed with five Swedish visitors, three of which would stay on with us for almost a month. They were chosen by their school to come to Colorado in a study to compare Sweden to America and how we use our horses! Of the other two visitors, one was a beautiful girl who had spent her senior year with us as an exchange student in the 1990s.

So, what better place to show our American horse heritage than on a ranch? Our eager visitors jumped in head first – learning how to move cattle, tag newborn calves, and even helping on branding day.

It was a month we all remember fondly!

Happy Easter girls!!!

A special Easter Dinner this year will be both Pork and Beef Tenderloins en Croute.

So…what's en croute? Sounds pretty fancy, huh? It typically means “to wrap”, so our holiday dinner will be wrapped in pastry. Since we raise our own beef and pork, we often put the tenderloins away for a special occasion.

Begin by taking a 3-4 pound tenderloin and roast it in 425 degree oven until it reaches 130 degrees. Remove it from the oven and place it in the refrigerator to cool. The reason we do this is so that the meat is “partially” roasted when you fold it inside the pastry.

Next, take 1/2 pound of finely chopped mushrooms and sauté in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add one 8 ounce container of your favorite cream cheese with herbs and garlic. (You can find it pre-packaged at the grocery store, or you can add your own favorite herbs yourself). Combine the mushrooms, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of dry bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of Madeira wine or fruit juice of your choice. Finish the mixture with one tablespoon of freshly chopped chives and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let this mixture cool.

The recipes that I have always used call for you to wrap your tenderloin in “puff pastry” sheets. Feel free to do that if you wish. I like to prepare a dough in my bread maker, any of your favorite bread recipes will work – just set your machine on the dough setting. This gives you even more control of the flavor surrounding your tenderloin.

Lay your pastry on a lightly floured surface and place the tenderloin in the middle. Spread the mushroom/cream cheese mixture over the meat and fold the pastry around it. Just like wrapping a present! Press the edges of the pastry to seal, and brush your masterpiece with an egg wash. Place in a greased pan for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. (Remember, we pre-baked the tenderloin, so it will basically just reheat inside the pastry envelope.)

Pork Tenderloin en Croute

If your group enjoys pork as much as mine does, try this slightly different version:

Using a 2 pound pork tenderloin, wrap with four pieces of prosciutto. Top with two teaspoons of Dijon mustard and a pinch of dried rosemary. You will note that you do not pre-bake the pork before wrapping it in your pastry. Poke three holes in the top of the pastry to allow the steam to escape. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes double checking the pork's progress with a meat thermometer. Let rest for five minutes.